Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Chilling time: 12 hours
Total Time: 14 hours 35 minutes
Yield: 2 loaves
Ingredients
Instructions
Make the Dough:
Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Using the same hand mixer, mix the eggs with the creamed butter and sugar. Heat the water to between 105F and 112F. Mix yeast into the heated water using a fork.
Place flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on low speed until combined. Add the water/yeast mixture and continue to mix on low speed until incorporated. The dough will be mostly dry and crumbly at this point. Add the creamed butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix on medium speed until the dough comes together, 2-3 minutes. Continue mixing for about 10 minutes on medium speed until the dough is completely smooth, elastic, and shiny. It will look soft and might be sticky – that’s ok. During mixing, you will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
With floured hands, transfer dough to a large mixing bowl brushed with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in the refrigerator to proof for at least half a day or overnight. The dough may not look like it has risen much, but that's okay. If placed for a long time in the fridge, the dough can become hard; that’s also okay; leave it at room temperature until it’s easy to work with, usually around 30-60 minutes.
Grease two loaf pans (I usually use 9×5-inch pans, but a bit smaller or larger pans would also work), butter the sides of each pan, and line the bottoms with parchment paper for easy release later. Set aside.
Make the Filling:
In a double boiler (or medium saucepan with an aluminum bowl resting over it), bring water to a full boil. Place chocolate, butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder, and sugar into the top bowl. Lower the heat to moderate and melt together the contents of the top bowl, mixing frequently with a spatula. The mixture will have a fudgy look and consistency at this point. Reduce the heat to low and continue to mix until fully melted and completely smooth. Set aside the bowl to cool. It will thicken and become spreadable as it cools. You can also place it in the refrigerator briefly until you get a spreadable consistency.
Roll and Shape the Dough:
Divide the dough in half. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a rectangle measuring 16×12 inches (40×30 cm) and 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) thick. Fold the dough onto itself until it is about 25% it's original rolled-out size. Roll the dough out again, shaping it into a rectangle measuring 16×12 inches (40×30 cm) and 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) thick. Repeat the folding and rolling process one more time. Now position the dough so that the long side is closest to you. Repeat the above process for the other half of the dough.
Add the Filling and Shape the Babka:
Using an offset spatula, spread half of the chocolate mixture over the rectangle. It is ok to have some ganache left over. Spread just enough to cover the dough, between 0.15 (0.38 cm) and 0.25 inches (0.64 cm). Too much ganache will make the babka soggy and taste off-balance.
Use both hands to roll up the rectangle like a roulade, starting from the long side closest to you and ending at the other long end. Press to seal the dampened end onto the roulade, then use both hands to even out the roll into a perfect, thick cigar. Rest the cigar on its seam.
Using a serrated knife, gently cut the roll in half lengthwise, starting at the top and finishing at the seam, essentially dividing the log into two long, even halves, with the layers of dough and filling visible along the length of both halves. With the cut sides facing up, gently press together one end of each half, then lift the right half over the left half. Repeat this process, but this time, lift the left half over the right to create a simple two-pronged plait. Gently squeeze together the other ends so you are left with the two halves intertwined, showing the filling on top.
Carefully lift the cake into a loaf pan. Don’t worry if there are gaps in the pan since the cake will rise and will eventually look fine, even if it looks messy at this point. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and leave to rise at room temperature for 1 to 1½ hours until almost doubled in size. Repeat to make the second babka.
Bake the Chocolate Babka:
Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C, allowing plenty of time to heat fully before the uncooked babkas have finished rising. Remove the plastic wrap and place the cakes on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on top. If you have a thermometer, you are looking for an internal temperature of about 200ºF/93ºC degrees.
Make and Apply the Syrup:
While the cakes are in the oven, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring water and sugar to a boil. As soon as the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and set aside to cool. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, brush the syrup over them. Use all of the syrup, even if it looks like you used a lot. Let cakes cool until they are warm, then remove from pans and let cool completely before serving.
Serve:
Serve by itself warm or at room temperature. It also pairs nicely with ice cream and coffee.
This Chocolate Babka will stay fresh for 24 hours in an airtight container at room temperature, but will also be just fine for around five days in a plastic bread bag with a twist tie.
